Emails from the State of Iowa Requesting Personal Information

"Phishing" is a form of online identity theft that tries to steal personal identity data and financial account credentials. Scam artists phish for victims by sending out email messages pretending to be from banks, stores or government agencies. These emails lead individuals to counterfeit websites designed to trick them into divulging sensitive data. Phishing attempts ask individuals for information such as: bank account numbers; credit card information; passwords and PINs; social security numbers; dates of birth; and other personal information.

The State of Iowa never requests personal information, like credit card numbers, social security numbers or passwords, via email. Anyone who receives an e-mail message that appears to be from the State of Iowa and asks for confidential or sensitive information should consider it to be fraudulent and should not follow the instructions in the e-mail.

If you receive an unsolicited e-mail that appears to come from the State of Iowa that asks for personal information, please notify the State of Iowa's Information Security Office (ciso@iowa.gov or 515-281-4820) immediately.

You may also file formal a complaint concerning fraudulent e-mail with the Internet Fraud Complaint Center (IFCC) at www.ic3.gov. The IFCC is a partnership between the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the National White Collar Crime Center.